Bulls' draft pick Mirotic opens up in interview

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Unlike his fellow 2011 first-rounder Jimmy Butler, who played just up the road at Milwaukee's Marquette University in the Big East Conference, not much is known about Bulls draft pick Nikola Mirotic.

The 6-foot-10 forward revealed he was pleased by the Bulls' decision to draft him in a recent interview by Spain-based basketball news outlet HoopsHype.com.

"I was thrilled by the Chicago option. I had talked with them and I was thrilled and attracted by this possibility. So I stayed in the draft because of Chicago," said Mirotic, who told the site he learned of the Bulls' interest "maybe two to three weeks before the draft."

"You can never be 100 percent sure, but I kind of knew they were going to pick me."

Since the draft, Mirotic hasn't second-guessed his decision to remain in the draft.

"I was very happy. I spoke with Bulls director of international scouting Ivica Dukan, whos Croatian, and I was very thrilled. I think its a team thats growing and has a lot of young players. Time will tell exactly when I go over there or if I go. Right now, Im happy and I want to reach my goals here," he continued. "They have a great history and they are building a great team. Of course, I like the coach and the manager is Croatian and Im familiar with him. So my decision to stay in the draft was perfect.

"I re-signed for five years with an NBA out. Well see what happens. I still cant tell if Im leaving in two, three, four or five years. Im thinking about this year right now. I cant tell how long Im going to stay," added the Real Madrid forward, who did not play on Spain's gold-medalist EuroBasket squad, as the champions opted to use Thunder forward Serge Ibaka as their team's allotted naturalized citizen. "I would like to make that jump to the NBA."

As for his NBA readiness, Mirotic takes on a humble approach, despite having garnered rave reviews for his continued development over the past year and change.

"I see myself as a power forward, but one that can play outside and shoot the three, go to the hole," said Mirotic, the MVP of the FIBA Under-20 European Championships for titlist Spain.

"Its been a super important and key year for me because Ive made a lot of progress. Ive done things real well. But this has to be just the beginning for me. I know I can keep improving. Im working on it and I expect bigger things for myself," the 20-year-old, whose parents hail from Montenegro and Spain, continued. "Last year I worked real well and current Lakers assistant coach Ettore Messina helped me. This year, theres a lot of expectations on me. I have to keep improving in several areas--most notably defense and some tactical stuff. Time will tell, but I hope I can help Real Madrid any way I can.

"I always think team first. Our goal is to contend for every title. We didnt start in the best possible way at the Supercup, we couldnt win it, but we have the ACB League, the Cup, the Euroleague," he added. "As for myself, I dont know what to tell you. Being 20, you cant just focus on improving one or two things. I have to improve in every area."

Aggrey Sam is CSNChicago.com's Bulls Insider. Follow him @CSNBullsInsider on Twitter for up-to-the-minute Bulls information and his take on the team, the NBA and much more.

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